Gavrus wasn’t sure if the transformation had somehow sped up puberty for him, but he found himself in a novel situation. For the first time in his life, he had stubble on his face. Standing in front of a mirror, he ran his fingers through the itchy black hairs wondering what he should do about them. Nessa would have been the ideal choice for a shave, but for the moment he had thoroughly burned that bridge.

Was he supposed to shave? He had seen none of the Archon instructors with facial hair. Admittedly, that was a tiny pool to judge from though. Deciding that caution was better than valor, he picked up a razor and promptly tore up his face. The second swipe of the razor left a bloody cut across his cheek that stung. Luckily a noise from outside the bathroom stole his attention away.

A knock wrapped upon the bathroom door, the muffled voice of Piron his seneschal followed, “Pardon sir. Might I have a word?”

“Sure, come on in,” Gavrus said, pulling his bathrobe tight.

Piron entered, took one look at the dire situation Gavrus had found himself in, then deftly plucked the razor out of his hand. Without a word, he mixed shaving cream with a brush before judiciously slavering it on the young Archons’ face.

“Milord, I am here to speak on behalf of Nessa,” Piron said, continuing his practiced ministrations to Gavrus’s face.

Gavrus said nothing in response, still quite befuddled about the situation.

“I know you come from a very different place than the empire. Therefore, I feel that I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t clear up some potential misunderstandings you have encountered.” Piron said.

With a wave of his hand, Gavrus silently motioned for Piron to explain.

“Being assigned to be the Keeper of an Archon is a very prestigious honor. It is in fact one of the highest positions a non-ascendant can obtain. Her duty is to help you maintain the path of virtue until you marry a member of one of the great houses. Outside of your future wife, she is the only person you will be legally allowed to be intimate with. So, for her, it is a lifetime commitment to you as a second wife, if you will. Her advances might have been unappreciated, but I assure you they were only with your best interest in mind. She believed that because of your relatively young age, it might be difficult for you to take the first step toward the path of intimacy. If she… fumbled the attempt, it is because she is also in fact equally young and new to the experience.” Piron finished diplomatically.

Gavrus didn’t respond until Piron had finished applying a sweet-smelling aftershave to his freshly shaved face.

“What you say would be reasonable. But she didn’t want me to spot her. I’ve been a sneak my entire life, and her positioning next to that wall there,” Gavrus pointed, “was to watch me unobserved. Care to try again?” Gavrus asked.

Piron gave Gavrus a calculating look. A small reassuring smile broke out on his face, “Milord, I am sure it was because of her shyness. Your displeasure has caused her no small amount of distress. Your vigil is to be commended, but what possible gain could she have for spying on her master in the shower?” Piron asked reasonably.

What indeed, Gavrus thought. “Okay. Fine. I’ll forgive the nonsense but don’t think for a second I’ll forget it. I would like you to ensure that she understands that we will not be intimate. I will not have a concubine. Further, we will have a very serious problem if I catch either of you spying upon me. Am I clear?” Gavrus said. He still didn’t trust his two servants — trust had to be earned. But he couldn’t see a good angle for her behavior, so he would give them the benefit of the doubt.

“Fantastic sir,” Piron said, with a bow. After which, he left to grab a fresh robe from Gavrus’s bedroom.

Upon exiting his apartment, Gavrus was greeted by the sight of Severa and Dexsia, who were standing in front of Dex’s door having a conversation.

“Hey,” Gavrus said with a smile, approaching his two housemates.

“Hey yourself,” Dex said. “Thank the virtues you took a shower. We are about to head to the one and only Semantic class. You want to walk with us?”

“That’s where I am headed!” Gavrus said, ignoring the well earned slight.

As they made their way to the auditorium, Gavrus asked the two women a question that suddenly sprouted into his head. “Do you have concubines as well?”

Severa blushed a deep red at the question, turning her blue skin almost purple. Dex laughed uproariously at the question. “Of course not! That would be ridiculous. If we were to get pregnant during training or out of wedlock, it would be disastrous. One thing you may not know about us Archons is that we are incredibly fertile. The Empire regulates our offspring, so we don’t go the way of degeneracy like the Vulca Covenant. Offspring with other Archons or just regular humans usually have severe mutations.” Dex said.

“Wait, but couldn’t I theoretically get my concubine pregnant?” Gavrus asked.

“Hah! No way. Keepers are sterile.” Dex said “Time has shown, century after century, men just can’t keep it in their pants. That’s why you must have all your animal needs cared for like the little horny dog you are! Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy?” Dex teased.

Gavrus imperiously ignored the teasing, she wasn’t aware of his willpower score. Though the irony of having a beast person, call him an animal wasn’t lost on him. “Couldn’t you have a sterilized man or a woman, if you wanted?” he asked.

Severa gasped at the question, while Dex looked at him disapprovingly. “So, here is the thing. I know you come from a place that is more… primitive than the empire. But, even if you could create a man that was sterile and could still engage in sexual activity, who would want to marry such a scandalous woman? Even an Archon? No one respectable. And as for your… other question,” Dex shuddered. “Sexual deviance of that sort is punishable by death in the empire. Especially for Archons. We were ruled by weak hedonists once before and it nearly destroyed the empire. It could have caused the collapse of worlds. The disgusting Vulca covenant still engages in such moral depravity, and they are our enemies.” Dex said.

Gavrus accepted the information in silence. He’d known a female gang leader, Shelly the shiv, that had a female lover. Shelly was infamous not for liking other women but being mean as shit. She used to beat the tar out of her younger lover too. Eventually, the ever-battered lover had had enough and shivved the shiv while she slept one evening. Shelly hadn’t been too different from any other ganger asshole, really.

The laws governing Archon sexual habits didn’t really matter to him. There was only one woman he loved. If the empire couldn’t accept Lilion as his wife, he’d cross that bridge when he got there. There was nothing under the gods that would stop him from doing otherwise.

Soon, the trio arrived at the large auditorium of the Blackstone Academy ending further conversation. Though they were still technically early for the “Semantic” class, they were still the last to arrive. The three sat down in the front row next to each other. Obran the fourth member of their house was sitting next to the initiates of House Dawn, lending support to Dex’s assertion they were his destiny.

An older man with a grey military cut hairstyle in a red and gold toga took the center stage of the concert hall, then smiled down serenely to the initiates. “Greetings first years of Blackstone! I am Envoy Novius, a Mind-Memory Archon of the Imperial Cabinet.”

Murmurs broke out amongst the first years at his declaration. Gavrus looked over to Dex for an explanation, but the quiet Severa answered for him. “It means he is one of the highest-ranked men in the empire. Probably a level twenty,” she whispered quietly.

“It is my pleasure to meet the entering students of the academy every year for the Semantics class. In this class, I will teach you the history of the empire, basic military rank and command, etiquette, weapons of the empire, enemies of the empire, and standard tactics. Is everyone ready to begin?” Novius asked.

No one made a sound. Novius took the silence as acceptance to continue.

“We shall do this by House. First, will the members of the glorious House Sunset make their way to the stage.”

Obran stood first, then moved to the open space between the front row and stage to wait for his other three housemates. Together the four strode up to the stage.

I know I’m not much of an expert at education, but this seems weird. Gavrus thought.

Novius gave each of the four a handshake and a smile. Gavrus didn’t trust the smile. It was too predatory. Each of the four shook his hand then bowed reverently. Well, three of them did, Gavrus did his best to imitate the others but had never been much of the sort to be subservient to anyone.

“Okay, I will now begin instruction!” Novius said with a haughty laugh.

Gavrus felt a massive block of psychic emanation hit the consciousness of the Neverwas. The other three of House Sunset stumbled to their knees under the mental onslaught, but Gavrus just sort of stood there appraising the man. Whatever he’d attempted to do just dropped into the endless pool of the Neverwas, instead of into his mind.

Novius gave him a very alarmed look.

“Did you gain the lesson?” he asked in a speculative tone.

Gavrus was about to answer that he had not, but suddenly the Neverwas released information steadily into his mind. History, military ranks, and all the other subjects that Novius spoke of and then some entered his mind. It was like he just suddenly knew these things. However, Gavrus noted that large sections of history and politics absent by the influence of the Neverwas.

It was as if the Neverwas had filtered out chunks of information. He set it aside as a mystery for another time.

Gavrus broke the silence, “Uh, yeah I got it. I have high willpower. I was just fascinated by the information. I didn‘t know the empire was so old.” He gave a fake smile to sell it.

Novius arched an eyebrow. “Well done then! Class is dismissed for you four.“